


They Have Her

by TourmalineQueen



Series: Rozenn the Breton [10]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M, Gen, canon compliant danger situation, sofie will kick so much ass when she grows up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 21:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20378455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TourmalineQueen/pseuds/TourmalineQueen
Summary: Written for the Skyrim KinkmemeOriginal Prompt: Since bandits can go and take your wife, why not your children? Either adopted or biological. How would the Dragonborn deal with it?Squicks - major character death, excessive gore





	They Have Her

Galmar and Ulfric were in the War Room of the Palace of the Kings, when they doors of the Great Hall slammed open with a ringing crash.

"What did you say to your wife, Galmar?" Ulfric asked with a wry chuckle.

Galmar shrugged. The door to the War Room smashed open, and Rozenn, wild-eyed and pale, stormed in clutching Barengar to herself. Calder followed, looking battered and beaten.

"Wife?" Galmar asked quietly.

"They took her, Galmar. They took little Sofie," she said in an eerily calm voice that was completely at odds with her scattered appearance.

Calder cringed. "I am so sorry, my Thane, General. I - I fought them as best I could, but... But I failed in my task."

"Nonsense, lad," Galmar grunted. "Barengar is safe, Rozenn is safe, you did all that you could. Go get a healing and return here."

Rozenn was shaking, whether with suppressed rage or in reaction to the kidnapping he couldn't be sure. He opened his arms and she leaned into him, careful not to jostle the baby. He tightened his arms about her and inhaled the scent of her hair, calming himself as he did so.

"Yrsarald," Galmar said quietly. "Close all gates in and out, and get people to the docks - the Dragonborn and myself are the only people permitted to enter or leave until further notice - and get reports of any possible sightings of these honourless dogs."

The Stormcloak nodded and left silently. Ulfric laid a hand on Galmar's shoulder. "What do you need?"

"Help Calder with the little lad, will you? We need to get Sofie back," Galmar said softly.

Rozenn took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "They left a ransom note. It doesn't say where they w-went, but I've dealt with similar for the Companions. I can send word - Vilkas will help us."

"No," said Galmar.

"No, he will, for coin or for the Harbinger he - that's not what you meant."

Galmar looked at her, eyes fierce. "They will rue the day they came to Windhelm, and took my little girl. I will make them pay in blood."

Rozenn nodded, baring her teeth in a parody of a smile. Ulfric shuddered involuntarily and stepped back from the pair; it had been some time since he had seen a sight so guaranteed to instil terror in the hearts of those around.

Sofie was cold and hungry and scared. She had hidden and watched Calder fighting off the attackers, sometimes tripping any who came too near her hiding place, and once koshing a mage on the head with the fire-poker when he would have killed Calder with an icy spear. 

Unfortunately, it was this action which brought her to the attention of the chief bandit, who knocked her into the wall with a backhand blow that left her stunned. She vaguely remembered a burlap sack thrown over her head and not much else until she felt the cold air from outside Windhelm on her skin. And then she was tossed into the well of a cart and her wrists were tied with rope that hurt.

She lost track of time, although whether that was from boredom or from slipping in and out of awareness, she wasn't sure; her head really hurt from the blow the bandit had given her. 

She half-remembered being dragged from the cart and onto a stony floor, and she remembered being lifted like a sack of potatoes (that was what the man had called her when he lifted her with a grunt, "some sack of potatoes, this one, eh? Worth more than a few spuds, though" and he had laughed a scary, wicked, mean laugh) and she had been tossed into a stone room with stale air, and the sack was removed from her head and she had wept a little when she saw she was in a prison cell. 

Mama and Papa sometimes talked about all the old Imperial Forts that dotted Skyrim, and how they were mazes inside, and how much they wished there were enough Stormcloaks to populate them all with good, true Nords. Sofie suddenly wished this Fort was filled with good, true Nords, too, who might help her get home to Windhelm.

She sniffled, and wiped her eyes with the heels of her still-bound hands. "Mama will come," she told herself; "Papa will come."

Sofie didn't know how long she was left alone in the cell. Eventually her bladder forced the issue and she screamed and pleaded with her captors to let her go. A redguard woman in steel armour that carried a mean-looking warhammer came to her cell and slit the ties on Sofie's wrists. She tossed a bucket into the cell, and told Sofie to use it.

Sofie did, weeping at the indignity of it. She searched her cell for anything she might use as a weapon, now that her hands were free: she hoped for but didn't expect a dagger or a sword, but those were the weapons that Mama had made for her (well, a sword made of wood, anyway), but Papa had taught her all manner of useful things, too. Unfortunately, no rescue was in sight, there was no lock for her to pick, and there wasn't even a bit of firewood with which she could club her captors on the head.

"Papa will come," she promised herself, "Mama will come. Unca Ulfric will come. Calder will come."

Sofie hadn't seen how many bandits there were in total, but she remembered about ten of them came to Hjerim, and she thought there had been two different voices at the cart, and she definitely didn't remember seeing the Redguard woman before... There was at least thirteen enemies between her and freedom. She sighed, and sank down against the rear wall of the cell, holding her head in her hands and ignoring the smell of the contents of the bucket; even if she could make it to freedom, she had no idea how far from Windhelm she even was.

"Papa will come," she reminded herself. "I wouldn't want to be a bandit when Papa gets here."

Sofie must have slept, although she didn't remember falling asleep, but she jerked awake at the sound of several of her captors arguing. They were talking over each other, and the voices echoed in the dank stone chambers, so Sofie couldn't tell what they were arguing about, but some of them had been ordered up and outside, where the Companions were harassing their watchmen. Nobody wanted to take on the Companions. Sofie grinned. Uncy Farkas and Uncle Vilkas must be here!

The Redguard woman, who seemed to be in charge of all the bandits, set a trap past the doors to the bandits' bedrooms, near the stairs; Sofie figured that meant that someone had managed to sneak inside - maybe Aunty Aela? Or Mama? The Redguard ordered the bandits into ranks, then she seemed to melt into the shadows. Uh-oh, Sofie thought, Papa and Mama won't look for sneaky bandits.

It must have been an hour of quiet, with the ranked bandits doing and saying little, but the silence upstairs must have unnerved one or two of them, because a couple broke ranks and started for the stairs, accidentally setting off the trap, and killing themselves with the poison darts. Sofie shook her head. Papa would never let a Stormcloak do that!

The two deceased bandits left five of them ranked, as well as the sneaky Redguard Bandit Chief. As if by some preordained signal, as soon as the last of the poisoned darts stopped flying a bearlike roar could be heard echoing around the ruined Fort, followed by the rumble of Dragon Shouts. Two more of the ranked soldiers charged from their position and up the stairs. Sofie couldn't see them once they got up the first three stairs, but she heard their death-screams.

Two headless corpses landed at the foot of the stairs, followed by a big, roaring blur of brown armour and battleaxe.

"Papa!" Sofie called out, "I'm here!"

The three bandits were killed before Sofie finished speaking, and the prison door unlocked as if by itself; clearly Mama had sneaked into one of the rooms to the side and found the door release. Sofie ran to Galmar and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Sofie, Sofie, you're all right, you're safe," he murmured repeatedly, whether for her benefit or his own, Sofie could not be sure. She was just so happy to see him, but -

"Papa, there's a Redguard woman, she's sneaky- look out!"

Sofie squealed as her father stood and, in a single motion that should not have been possible in such close quarters, swung his axe and decapitated the Radguard bandit, shearing through her armour like it was butter, and blocking the wild swing of her warhammer, even as twin glowing swords slashed through her belly.

"Mama!"

"Wife," Galmar said, sounding remarkably pleased. "I told you the battleaxe wouldn't hinder me."

"Sofie!" Rozenn dropped the spell maintaining her Bound twin Swords and threw herself at her daughter and husband, heedless of the corpse on the ground between them. "You're safe!"


End file.
